Automotive staff holder



United States Patent [1113,540,635 7 [mentor E V G m 2,908,099 10/1959Burke 248/38UX 1715 v M g b ll c ny 3,136,289 6/1964 Johnson 116/2890640 Primary ExaminerR0y D. Frazier [21] PP 867,304 AssistahtExaminer-J. Franklin Foss [22] Filed 1969 AttarneyLarson,Taylor&Hinds[45] Patented Nov. 17, 1970 [54] AUTOMOTIVE STAFF HOLDER 4 Claims, 8Drawing Figs.

ABSTRACT: A staff holder having a C-shaped member for at- [52] 0.8. CI248/40, tachmem onto an elongated flange pom-on of an automobe 116/173;248/2-26 A socket device is mounted on and movable relative to the C-[51] Int. Cl. G09fl7/00 shaped member to present a vertical socket forvertically Ofsell'ch i i g a ff regardless of the orienation of the p3143 116/28 member. One embodiment includes a socket pivotally attachedto the screw of the C-member and another embodi- [56] References Citedment includes a rotating element attached to the C-shaped UMTED STATESPATENTS member and having a plurality of sockets therein, each at a1,834,682 12 931 Colstad 248/226X different angle of inclinationPatented Nov. 17 1970 Sheet v. l of 2 FIG: 1

mvm'mn EMIL V. GUALANO ATTOR N EYS Patented Nov. 17, 1970 Sheet. 2 .01 2

30 mvsnrron EMIL V. GUALANO BY J13 FIG 7 ATTORNEYS This inventionrelates to staff holders, and-in particular it relates to a device forattachinga staff onto an elongated flange portion of an automobile, suchas a rain gutter or the like.

Numerous devices have been known heretofore for attaching staffs such'aspennant orflag staffs and the like to the I rain gutter of anautomobile. However, all known devices have suffered from thedisadvantage that they are uneconomically limited to one; or at bestonly a'very few makesand models of automobiles. In most of these devicesa simple socket-is rigidly connected to 'a clamping element which serves:to rigidly secure the assembly to the rain gutter."This arrangementould be fine if, as assumed in'the prior art, all automotive raingutters included a flat, horizontal bottom portion to whichthe clampingelements of the assembly could be at tached. However, in practice, theexact opposite is true. In almost all makes and models of cars, thebottom of the elongated rain gutters are either round or are inclinedupwardly or downwardly. Thus, when a device of the prior art is actuallyrotatable element has formed in its outer peripheral surface a 2 aboutthe rain gutter and including a'screw passing through the top of the C-'shaped member for; clamping the rain gutter between-the bottom of thescrew. and-the bottom of the C- shaped member. I

In a first embodiment of the invention, the socket portion comprises ahollow socketpivotally connected to the top of the saidscrew.Consequently, the socket holder can pivot attached to a rain gutter onalmost any make or model of automobile on the road today, the clampingportion of the device will be tilted inwardly or outwardly and hence'thesocket portion rigidly attached thereto will not be vertical. Of course,the socket portion could be rigidly attached to the clamping element inthe first place at a specified angle so that it remained vertical for agiven tilt of the clampingelei'nenti However, the device will then. beapplicable only to the very few makes and modelsof automobiles havingraingutters the bottoms of which have that particular angle of tilt.

Other prior art devices are known wherein the socket memberisnotattached rigidly to the clamping portion of the device but issomewhat flexible relative thereto so that'the pennant staff can beturned about an axis parallel to, the'rain gutter. However, thesedevices are limited intheir applicability since, in order for thepennant staff to remain vertical, they must be applied to a horizontal.portion of the rain gutter.

However, in practice, on most automobiles a major portion of a raingutter extends in a generally vertical direction. This would apply, forexample, to the portion of an automotive rain through approximatelyl80about the head'of the screw. In practice, owing to the partiallyresilient nature of the metal, and in view of the low pitch of thethread of the screw, it is always'possible to turn the screw throughapproximately 180 while still holding the rain guttertightly andsecurely. The

combination of thesetwo movements is a universal'connec-' tion betweenthe C-shaped member and the socket member.- Consequently, regardless ofthe angular position of the C- shaped member, it .is always possible toarrangethe socket v member vertically for vertically receiving a pennantstaff.

,I n'another embodiment of the invention, a rotating element is attachedto the back of the C-shaped member and this plurality ofsockets, eachinclined at a different angle from a plane perpendicular to the angle ofrotation of the elements. Thus,'after the C -shaped member has beenclamped onto the rain guttenthe rotatable element is rotated until oneof the sockets is vertical. A- screw means then rigidly secures therotating element in this position and the staff is placed into thevertical socket.'-Thus, with this arrangement, as with the first gutterextending downwardly along the side of the front windshield. It wouldnot be possible to apply a rain gutter clamping device of the lattertype to a vertically extending portion ofa rain gutter and stillmaintain the socketin'a vcrtical position for vertically receiving apennant staff.

Thus, notwithstanding the'fact that numerous automobile flag staffclamping deviceshave been knownheretofore, there exists a need for auniversalstaff holder which can be applied anywhere along the lengthofthe rain gutter and can'beapplied to any automobile'regardless of-theangle ofinclination' of the bottom of the rain gutter from a horizontalplane.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION arrangement, astaff may be mounted verticallyregardless of 30 the angular'orientation of the C-shaped member, andhence, regardless ofthe portion of the rain gutter to which the device,is applied and regardlessof the cross-sectional shape of the coupledwithasocket'means which provides a vertical socket for a Staffregardless f the angular orientation ofthe C- shaped member. I

lt'is another object of this invention to provide a staff holding deviceincluding a C-shaped member for rigidly clamping the device to a raingutter or other elongated flange portion of an automobile, including asocket for receiving the staff 7 pivotally connected to a screw whichcooperates withthe C- "shaped member to attach'the device to the flangeportion of ferently inclined sockets formed therein is-connec'ted to aC- shaped member which in turn isattachable to a rain gutter or otherflange portion of an automobile.

' Otherobjects and the attendant advantagesof the present invention willbecome apparent from thedetailed description I to followtogether withthe accompanying drawings. 7

Basically, the purpose of the present invention is achieved byconstructing the staff holder with two main. portions ,a rain gutterclampingportion and a pennantstaffiholding portion,

and by attaching these two portions together so that a plurality -'w itha firstembodiment'of the present invention.

In accordance'with the present invention, the clamping portionpreferably comprises a C-shaped member adapted" to fit eaner DESCRIPTIONor THE DRAWINGS 'There followsadetailed descriptionof preferred embodi-vmentsofthe invention to bere'ad together with the .accomr I panyingdrawingsnl-lowever, the description and the drawings are providedonly'for purposes of illustration. FIG. 1 illustratesa portion of anautomobile having two staff holdersmounted thereon, each constructed inaccordance =F-lG. 3 is an end elevational view. of a first embodiment ofI the invention and is taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates the first embodiment of the invention as applied to avertically inclined portion of a rain gutter, and istaken along line 4-4of FIG. I.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a staff holding device con- .to theplane of the cross section of FIG. 7 and showing this second embodimentof the invention in use, mounted on the 7 rain gutter of an automobile.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now-to thedrawings, like numerals represent like elements throughout the-severalviews.

FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of an automobile 10 having a rain gutter 11on which are mounted two staff holders 12 constructed in accordance witha first embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is shown inmore detail in FIGS.

Referring first to FIGS/2 and 3, the staffholder 12 includes a C-shapedmember having a top leg 16, a back portion 17 and a bottom leg 18. Thestaff holder 12 also includes a wing nut 19 having an enlarged head 20.For securing the member to the rain gutter I1, the base of the raingutter is secured between the lower leg 18 and the bottom of screw 19.After the screw 19 has been tightened, it is held in place by means oflocking nut 26. A, socket member 21 has lower flange portions Hand 23which extend downwardly on both sides of enlarged portion 20. A screw 24passes aligned apertures in elements 20, 22 and 23, this screw beingheld by nut 27. With this arrangement, the member 21 is pivotable aboutthe axis of nut 24. When this member has been pivoted to a selectedposition, nut 27 is tightened to hold the member 21 in its selectedposition relative to enlarged head 20. A conventional staff such as apennant or flag staff 25 is then inserted into the hollow socket member21. a

As is evident from FIG.'2, the bottom of rain gutter 11 is nothorizontal but rather it is sloped downwardly and outwardly. Thus, ifthe socket member 21 were rigid with either the screw 19 or the member15, it would not doubt also extend outwardly in a direction parallel tothe screw. However, in accordance with a feature of the presentinvention, the socket member '21 is mounted for pivotal movement andhence it is turned about its pivot screw 24 until it is vertical, atwhich time the nut 27 is tightened.

FIG. 4 illustrates the same embodiment of the staff holder,

but attached to a vertically extending portion of the rain gutter 11' asshown in FIG. I. In this case, after the nut 19 is tightened, it isturned and additional amount until'the screw 24 lies in a horizontalplane; This'is possible because of the This embodiment employs the sameC'shaped member 15 in 4 the same nut 19 although in this case it is notessential that the nut 19 include the enlarged head 20. In thisembodiment the socket means for holding'the 'staff includes a multiplesocket wheel element 30 attached-by means ofa screw 31 to the back 17 ofthe C-shaped member 15. The element 30 is rotatable about the nut 31.However, after the element 30 has reached a desired angular position, itis locked and placed by tightening the nut 31. i v

Thus, element 30 includes a plurality of sockets 32 through 36 openedtoward the outer periphery thereof. The line A-A in FIG. 7 represents aplane perpendicular to the nut 31. Each of the five sockets 32-36 areinclined at adifferent angle (see FIG. 7) relative to the planerepresented by A-A. In a inclined in an angle of 30 from the plane A-Ato the right as shown in'FIG ..7. Socket 33, which is visible in FIG. 7,will preferably be inclined 15 from the plane A-A to the right as shownin FIG. 7. Socket 34 is parallel to plane A-A, socket 35 is inclined tothe left by 15? from plane A-A and sockets 36 (which is also visible inFIG. 7) is'inclined to the left from plane A-A by 30.

The values of the angle 6 for sockets 32-36 have been found to bedesirable as they permit the staff holder of this embodiment to beincorporated on almost all vehicles. However, it is of course within thescope of the invention to use any number of sockets and to incline thesesockets at any different angles. Also, the sockets may be spaced apartabout the axis of bolt 31 by any desired amount. However, inthe presentinvention the sockets are spaced apart by 60 leaving a blank area 37 tobe drilled at any desired angle tofulfill a specific need.

FIG. 8 illustrates the staff holder of FIGS. 5-7 as applied to thehorizontal portion 11 of the rain gutter of FIG. 1. As in FIG. 2, theinclined angle of the bottom of rain gutter 11 causes a (shaped member15and 'the screw 19 to be inclined. In this case, assuming the downwardinclination ofthe bottom of rain gutter 11 is 30, the element 30 isrotated until socket 36 is uppermost at which time the socket will bevertically oriented. The staff 25 is then inserted into this socket in avertical position. It is, of course, apparent that the staff holder ofFIGS. 5-8 is equally applicable on the vertically extending portion ofthe rain gutter 11. In this case the selected socket, when vertical,will of course then lie askew to the nut 19. Although the specificdimensions are not critical, in a preferred embodiment of the invention,the diameter of element 30 will be 1 Vs inches and the individualsockets in the embodiment of FIG. 1 as well as in the embodiment ofFIG.2 will be eleven sixty-fourths of an inch to snugly hold a wooden flagstaffof three-sixteenths of an inch diameter.

Although the invention was contemplated primarily for its use on therain gutter of an automobile, its unlimited versatility lends itself toother equivalent uses. For example, the elongated flag portion may bethe bottom or top of a front bumper of an automobile. With the member 15thus clamped to the front bumper and presenting a vertical socket, anindicator staff may be placed therein thereby visually indicating to theI driver the location of the front corner of the bumper. A light couldbe put on this indicator staff, which light could be hooked up with thelights of the car.

' Although theinvention has been described in considerable detail withrespect to preferred embodiments thereof-,it will be apparent that theinvention is capable of numerous modifications and variations apparentto those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit andscopeof the invention.

Between the top horizontal portion of the clamp and the hex lock nutthere is an anti-theft flanged slotted washer 50. When the staff sockethas been adjusted vertically and the lock nut secured firmly then thefinal operation is with small chisel or sturdy screw driver and hammerbend the three outer tabs 51 up over the lock nut, so that no one canapply a wrench to the lock nut to loosen and steal the clamping device.The clamp remains on the rain gutter all the time, but the flag isremoved at night and replaced in the socket in the morning, or removedand replaced when the vehicle goes through a wash rack.

lclaini: v

I 1. A staff holder for attachment onto an elongated,

generally flat flange portion of an automobile, comprising a C- shapedmember, holding means for rigidly securing the member onto the saidflange portion with the latter located between the two generallyparallel free legs of the C-shaped member, the holding means actingbetween the top of the C- shaped member and the flange, a rod meansmounted on the attachment and movable relative to the C-shaped membersuch that when the C-shaped member is rigidly secured to the i Ydifferent angular orientations of the C-shaped member about horizontalaxes parallel or perpendicular to the said direction of elongatiomtherod may be placed in a generally vertical planeextending upwardly,wherein the holding means comprises a screw threadably engaged in andpassing through the upper leg of said member, whereby the said flangeportion is secured between the bottom of the screw and the bottom leg ofthe member, said screw having a head portion above the upper leg .of themember, said rod pivotably attached to the head portion for pivotablemovement about an axis, which axis is substantially perpendicular to theaxis of the screw, and including a pivotpin passing through both thehead portion and the rod to form the said pivot attachment. and means onvided by turning ofthe screw about its axis and by turning of.

the pivot pin for securing therod at any one of aplurality-of positionsabout said pivot axis relative to the screw, whereby universaladjustment ofthe rod, relative to the C-clamp is prothe rod about thesaid pivot axis, which pivot axis is substantially perpendicular to thescrew axis.

2. A staff holder according to claim 1, wherein said rod is an upwardlyopen hollow socket member.

3. A staff holder according to claim 1, wherein said pivot pin is asecond-screw passing through both the head portion and the rod andwherein said means on the pivot-pin is a nut on the second screw andwherein said pivot axis is the axis of said second screw, whereby, bytightening the nut on the second screw the rod can be secured at'any oneof a plurality of positions about the axis of the second screw. i

4. A staff holder according to claim 3, wherein said rod is an upwardlyopen hollow socketmember.

